Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski Issues On-Air Apology for Homophobic Slur: 'It Was a Terrible Choice of Words'

Mika Brzezinski issued an on-air apology on Friday for what many considered a homophobic slur used to describe Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The Morning Joe cohost came under fire on Wednesday following a segment discussing Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. While the CIA has concluded that MBS ordered the killing, President Trump and Pompeo are among those taking the Saudi prince at his word. Brzezinski’s controversial remark was made in response to Pompeo’s appearance on Fox News, during which he repeatedly dodged questions about MBS.

“Is that a patriot speaking, or a wannabe dictator’s butt boy?” Brzezinski asked during Wednesday’s show. “Dead serious, I’m asking. Are these the words of a patriot?”

The comment drew immediate flack online, and the MSNBC anchor acknowledged her “SUPER BAD choice of words” within minutes of the broadcast. She then took the following day off for a family issue, before returning to work on Friday and issuing the following apology:

“I was off yesterday for a family matter… but I wanted to address a term that I used on this show on Wednesday that was vulgar,” she said. “I knew it right away, and I tweeted that it was a terrible choice of words and that I was sorry. But please allow me to say this face to face: The term is crass and offensive and I apologize to everyone, especially the LGBTQ community and to my colleagues, for using it.

“It was a mistake,” Brzezinski continued. “My father would have found it so unbecoming and disrespectful and he would have told me. I will work hard to be better. But I just wanted to say, on camera, looking viewers straight in the eye, I am really, really sorry.”

Watch Brzezinski’s on-air apology below, then hit the comments with your reactions.

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